■>■',/' -<*;^w  r»»,.  tr,,^ 


<iiiy. 


LIBRARY 


Class  \\3  ■  \'2v ^- 


ORAIBI   NATAL  CUSTOMS  AND  CEREMONIES 


n.  K.  VoTii 


I'iKi.i)  Columbian  Museum 

Publication  No.  97 

Anthropological  Skries  Vol.  V'I,  No.  2 


ORAIHI    NATAL    CUSTOMS    AND 
CEREMONIi:S 


II.     R.     \\)T1I 


THE  STANLEY  McCORMICK   HOIM   EXPEDITION 
Gkorgk  a.  Dorskv 

Curator,   Department  of  Anthropology 


24309 

Chicago,  U.  S.  A. 

February,    1905 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


I'ujfRK  Page 

1.  Arrow  with  umbilical  cord  and  stirring  stick       -           -           -           -  48 

2.  Curtain  over  door     --------  49 

3.  Washing  the  child  on  the  twentieth  day              ■            ■            -            -  54 

4.  Naming  the  child     -.-----.  55 

5.  Waving  the  ears  of  com  to  the  rising  sun          -           •           -           •  56 

6.  The  baby  sleeping  between  two  baths     -----  58 

7.  Offering  sacred  meal  to  the  rising  sun     -----  60 

8.  Grandmother  carrying  home  food              -----  60 


NATAL    CEREMONIES    IN    ORAIBI,   ARIZONA. 

In  his  paper  entitled  "Natal  Ceremonies  of  the  Hopi  Indians," 
the  late  J.  G.  Owens  describes  the  giving  of  a  name  or  names  to  the 
Hopi  child.  His  observations,  however,  seem  to  have  been  made  chiefly 
in  the  villages  of  the  First  or  East  Mesa  of  Tusayan,  and  as  the  writer 
of  this  article  has  observed  these  sanie  rites  in  Oraibi,  the  largest  of  the 
seven  Hopi  villages,  it  has  been  thought  advisable  to  publish  them  as 
a  contribution  to  a  comparative  study  of  this  and  similar  subjects. 

As  among  most  primitive  peoples,  the  time  preceding  and  attend- 
ing childbirth  among  the  Hopi  is  attended  with  very  much  less  prep- 
arations, excitement,  ado,  and  expense  than  among  white  people.  The 
woman  approaching  confinement  is,  as  a  rule,  very  unconcerned  about 
It,  though  I  am  told  that  occasionally  she  will  look  forward  to  the 
event  with  more  or  less  anxiety,  and  express  the  wish  that  it  may  not 
be  the  cause  of  her  being  transferred  "  to  the  skeleton  house  (mdski.)" 

Usually  the  first  and  only  one  called  to  the  house  where  a  wonian 
is  to  be  confined  is  her  own  mother,  or,  if  the  mother  be  no  longer 
living,  an  aunt  or  some  other  relative.  This  attendant  heats  some  water, 
sees  that  a  proper  "bed"  is  prepared  for  the  lying-in  woman,  which 
usually  consists  of  a  layer  of  sand  and  some  old  rags.  She  also  places 
in  readiness  an  old  tray,  a  small  broom,  and  a  little  twig  of  juniper. 
Though  she  remains  within  hailing  distance,  even  she  is  not  supposed 
to  be  present  during  the  last  stage  of  labor,  and  when  parturition 
actually  takes  place.  So  in  the  "  hour  of  greatest  need "  the  Hopi 
mother  is  left  to  herself.  "That  is  sacred  to  her"  ("  Pam  put  KdhCaona"), 
the  Hopi  say.  As  a  rule,  the  parturient  woman  assumes  a  kneeling  posi- 
tion with  both  hands  on  the  floor,  but  the  head  somewhat  raised.  If  there 
are  children  in  the  house  they  remain  almost  to  the  time  when  the  child 
is  actually  born,*  but  at  that  moment  they  are  sent  out  of  the  house. 
Thp  husband  of  the  woman  is,  as  a  rule,  absent. 

As  soon  as  the  child  is  born,  the  attending  woman  is  called.  A  little 
of  the  juniper  is  first  chewed,  either  by  the  patient  herself,  or  by  the  attend- 
ant, and  in  the  latter  case  placed  into  the  patient's  mouth.  She  first 
directs  her  attention  to  the  delivery  of  the  placenta.  Usually  a  little 
warm  corn-meal  gruel  is  given  to  the  patient  at  this  stage.    If  the  womb 

*When  I  was  in  charge  of  a  boarding-school  among  the  Cheyenne  and  Arapabo  some 
yean  ago,  it  happened  on  several  occasions  that  people  asked  for  permission  to  take  their  chil- 
dren home  from  school  when  a  case  of  confinement  was  about  to  take  place  in  the  family. 

47 

i3 


48       Field  Columbian  Museum  —  Anthropology,  Vol.  VI. 

fails  to  contract  and  to  expel  the  placenta,  she  gently  presses  and  kneads 
the  body;  if  that  fails  she  resorts  to  the  little  broom,  already  mentioned, 
which  is  made  of  fine  stiff  grass,  and  with  which  she  strikes  gently  the 
hips  and  back  of  the  patient.  She  at  the  same  time  gently  pulls  the 
cord.    The  woman  during  this  time  is  usually  in  a  recumbent  position. 

As  soon  as  the  placenta  is  delivered  the  patient  usually  is  directed 
to  sit  down  on  a  bent  piece  of  wood  called  "childbirth  seat"  (tihta 
adtsvehpi),  so  as  to  permit  the  blood  to  flow  through  the  opening.  In 
the  absence  of  such  a  seat  she  places  herself  on  the  edge  of  a  plain  block 
of  wood.  When  she  is  tired  she  lies  down,  and  the  attendant  then 
directs  her  attention  to  the  baby.  A  piece  of  the  mother's  hair  string 
is  first  tied  around  the  umbilical  cord  close  to  the  body  of  the  child. 
If  it  is  a  boy  she  is  supposed  to  place  an  arrow  shaft,  or  a  piece  of  wood 
under  the  umbilical  cord,  and  cut  the  cord  on    it.       If    it  is  a  girl  it 


Fig.  1.     Arrow  with  umbilical  cord,  and  stirring  stick. 

is  cut  on  a  stirring  stick,  or  a  piece  of  wood  representing  such  a  stick.* 
This  part  of  the  cord  is  later,  when  it  is  dried  up  and  severed  from 
the  body,  tied  to  the  arrow  shaft,  stick,  or  piece  of  wood  and  thrust 
behind  some  joist  of  the  house,  "because  the  boy  will  later  become 
a  hunter,  or  have  to  carry  the  fire  wood,  and  the  girl  stir  the  food  in 
the  kettle  and  grind  corn."     See  Fig.  i. 

The  child  is  then  wrapped  up  in  a  blanket  and  again  left  to  itself, 
while  the  attendant  places  on  an  old  tray  the  placenta,  pads,  sand  from 
under  the  woman,  and  the  little  broom,  and  carries  it  all  to  one  of  the 
placenta  hills  (kiwiichochmo),  of  which  there  are  several  in  close  prox- 
imity to  the  village.  She,  or  sometimes  the  father,  if  he  be  present, 
then  places  two  posts  against  the  house  in  front  of  the  door,  over  which 
she  spreads  a  blanket  to  exclude  the  sunlight,  which  is  supposed  to  be 
harmful  to  the  child  if  it  should  happen  to  shine  on  it  during  the  first 
twenty  days.  See  Fig.  2.  Hereupon  she  places  fresh  sand  or  rags,  or  both, 
under  the  woman,  and  then  calls  the  mother  of  the  baby's  father,  whom 
we  shall  call  the  godmother.  If  this  grandmother  be  no  longer  living, 
which  is  often  the  case,  one  of  her  sisters  or  other  relatives  is  called, 

^Several  of  these  sticks  are  used  together  for  stirring  corn  that  is  being  baked  or  popped 
in  jars  or  kettles. 


Feb.,  1905.  Oraibi  Natal  Customs  —  Voth.  49 

but  she  must  be  of  the  same  clan  as  the  father  of  the  child.  She  brings 
with  her  a  little  water  and  corn-meal,  a  piece  of  yucca  root,  two  white 
corn-ears,  and  some  wrappings  for  the  baby.  She  is  supposed  to  be 
in  a  happy  frame  of  mind  when  she  comes  over,  and  it  is  for  that 
reason,  it  is  said,  everything  uncanny  is  removed  before  she  comes 
to  the  house,  so  that  she  sees  the  mother  and  child  only.  Of  the 
latter  she  now  takes  charge.  After  having  procured  a  bowl  she  prer 
pares  suds  of  the  yucca  root  she  has  brought  and  washes  the  child  in 
it,  rubs  either  ashes  or  a  peculiar  clay,  which  is  found  near  the  village, 
all  over  its  body,  lays  it  on  a  cradle  board,  on  which  she  has  first 
placed  some  pieces  of  cedar  bark,  cloth,  and  blankets,  wraps  it  up, 
ties  a  cord  around  it,  and  then  places 
the  little  bundle  by  the  mother's 
side.  By  the  side  of  the  little  one's 
bed  she  places  the  two  ears  of  corn, 
which  remain  there  throughout  the 
lying-in  period  of  twenty  days.  She 
then  takes  a  little  finely  ground  corn- 
meal  with  which  she  rubs  four  lines, 
each  about  an  inch  wide,  and  from 
six  to  seven  inches  long,  one  above 
the  other,  on  the  four  walls  of  the 
room,  whereupon  she  resumes  her 
seat,  saying: 

"  Now  thus  1  have  made  a  house  Fig.  2.    Curtain  over  door. 

for  you.      Now  thus  you  shall  stay 

here.  That  you  may  (survive)  until  twenty  days  we  shall  be  wailing  for 
you."  (Tad  nu  yan  umiingem  kita.  Puu  ydntakat  dma  yep  kAtuni. 
Hisat  umui  silnatavikat  ak  itam  umilmii  makdpchiigungwni.)  This  little 
rite,  however,  is  supposed  to  be  performed  early  in  the  morning,  "when 
the  roosters  crow."  If  this,  to  the  Hopi  more  or  less  important,  function 
on  the  part  of  the  roosters  has  already  been  performed,  the  making  of 
those  marks  on  the  walls  is  deferred  until  the  next  morning,  and  this  day 
is  not  counted  as  one  of  the  twenty  days  of  the  lying-in  period. 

These  four  lines  on  each  wall  are  called  "  house."  They  are  also 
made  in  nearly  all  Hopi  secret  ceremonies.  The  explanations  as  to  their 
meaning  are  meager  and  unsatisfactory.  Some  say  they  represent  the 
houses  of  the  Hopi,  and  if  so,  they  may  be  in  a  general  way  an  offering 
or  a  prayer  that  they  for  whom  they  are  made  may  always  have  a  home 
—  which  in  the  case  of  a  new-born  child  would  seem  very  appropriate. 
I  have  also  heard  them  called  —  in  ceremonies  —  houses  of  the  clouds, 
and  an  old  priest  once  sang  me  a  song  which  speaks  in  the  different 


5©      Field  Columbian  Museum  —  Anthropology,  Vol.  VI. 

stanzas  about  houses  of  stones  or  shells  of  the  different  ceremonial 
colors,  and  of  different  names. 

After  the  godmother  has  made  these  lines,  she  repairs  to  her  own 
house  and  gets  some  ears  of  corn,  which  are  cooked  with  a  few  small 
twigs  of  juniper.  This  dish  is  called  "lying-in  cooked  corn -ear" 
(tlhkatchoyani),  and  is  eaten  for  breakfast.  Any  one  is  welcome  to  step 
in  and  partake  of  the  meal;  passers  by  and  children  outside  are  even 
invited  to  come  in.  The  lying-in  woman  also  eats  of  this,  but  she  has 
usually  partaken  already  of  some  crushed  piki  (paper  bread)  soaked  in 
warm  water.  In  fact,  she  is  not  allowed  to  eat  or  drink  anything 
cold  throughout  the  whole  lying-in  period.  She  is  furthermore  not 
allowed  to  eat  any  meat,  or  any  food  containing  salt,  and  everything 
she  eats  must  have  been  prepared,  at  least  in  some  degree,  with  a  decoc- 
tion of  juniper  leaves. 

This  is  about  the  way  a  case  of  childbirth  among  the  Hopi  passes 
off  normally.  Of  course,  the  various  cases  may  differ  somewhat  in  non- 
essential points.  The  husband  is  sometimes  present,  and  now  and  then 
also  another  woman  besides  the  mother  (or  the  substitute)  of  the  par- 
turient woman.  But  the  cases  do  not  always  pass  off  normally.  Cases 
of  difificult  and  protracted  labor  are  by  no  means  rare,  among  the  Hopi. 
In  those  cases  the  husband  is  often  present,  and  the  assistance  of  others 
is  called  in.  Recently  a  man,  who  is  one  of  the  most  intelligent  in  the 
village,  and  who  himself  has  a  family  of  six  children,  told  me  that  his 
wife  was  usually  in  labor  several  days,  and  that  hjj  would  then  remain 
with  her  and  "work,"  as  he  called  it,  on  her  body,  and  thus  "turn  the 
child,"  and  his  remarks  indicated  that  he  had  a  fairly  intelligent  idea 
of  different  presentations  of  the  child.  In  fact,  they  have  of  later  years 
called  upon  his  obstetrical  skill  in  a  number  of  cases  that  were  very 
tedious,  and,  although  he  is  very  modest  about  his  knowledge,  and 
very  reluctant  in  making  practical  use  of  it,  he  certainly  seems  to  have 
managed  several  cases  very  successfully  in  his  own  way.  In  one  instance 
the  woman  had  been  in  labor  for  about  two  days  and  one  night,  and 
wdls  totally  exhausted.  Her  father  and  husband  were  lying  and  sitting 
by  her  side  tired  out,  sleepy,  and  in  despair.  An  Indian  doctor  from 
a  neighboring  village  was  at  his  wit's  end.  When  my  friend  arrived, 
he  ordered  the  husband  of  the  lying-in  woman  to  kneel  on  the  floor, 
and  also  to  place  both  hands  on  the  floor.  He  then,  with  the  help 
of  the  others,  placed  the  woman  across  the  back  of  her  husband,  but 
somewhat  to  one  side,  so  that  a  downward  pressure  was  applied  to  the 
woman's  abdomen.  He  at  the  same  time  applied  gentle  pressure  with 
his  hands  on  both  sides  of  the  abdomen,  and  primitive  and  drastic 
as  the  measures  resorted  to  appear,  the  child  was  expelled  in  a  very 


Feb.,  1905.  Oraibi  Natal  Customs  —  Voth.  51 

short  time,  and  the  woman's  life  saved.  The  child,  however,  was  dead, 
but  they  believed  it  had  been  dead  for  some  time.  In  another  case 
the  womb  failed  to  expel  the  placenta.  He  also  employed  the  so-called 
**  Crady's  method  "  of  external  manipulation,  without  being  aware,  to  be 
sure,  of  the  fact  that  at  least  that  part  of  his  obstetrical  skill  had  long 
been  sanctioned  by  such  high  authority,  and  for  a  long  time  had  been 
taught  in  text-books  and  lectures  on  obstetrics.  An  old  woman,  acting 
in  the  capacity  of  a  midwife,  who  was  also  present,  gently  pulled  on 
the  cord,  for  which  purpose  she  had  to  partly  introduce  her  hand, 
as  the  cord  had  been  torn  off  inside  of  the  external  opening,  and  in 
a  very  short  time  the  placenta  was  expelled. 

Decoctions  of  all  kinds  are  also  resorted  to  in  cases  of  protracted 
labor.  One  of  the  favorite  herbs  is  weasel  medicine  (Piwdnnga, 
Linum  rigidum  Pursh),  a  decoction  of  which  is  used  externally  and 
internally;  because,  they  say,  the  weasel,  when  in  danger  of  being 
raptured,  rapidly  digs  its  way  through  the  ground,  and  "comes  out" 
at  another  place.  For  this  reason  the  meat,  fat,  and  where  these  cannot 
be  obtained,  even  a  piece  of  the  skin  of  the  weasel  are  favorite  "  medicines  " 
in  cases  of  difficult  labor.  Other  favorite  herbs,  used  for  various  purposes 
during  the  childbed  period,  are  such  as  Votdkvala  (Chrysothamnus  gnapha- 
loders  Green),  which  is  given  especially  if  the  uterus  fails  to  contract 
properly,  or  a  disturbance  in  the  lochial  discharges  occur.  The  drug 
is  given  in  the  form  of  a  decoction  prepared  from  the  leaves  and  roots 
of  the  plant.  Hohdyaqnga  (Hesquerella  cinerea  Watson)  is  sometimes  rub- 
bed on  the  abdomen  in  case  the  uterus  refuses  to  contract  promptly  after 
parturition.  The  roots  of  "  blood  medicine "  (Ungvnga,  Eriogonum 
annuum  Nutt)  are  crushed  and  boiled,  and  the  decoction  given  against 
postpartem  hemorrhage.  Tdingwa  (Reverihonia  arenaria  Gray)  is  given 
for  the  same  purpose.  "  Bluebird  blossom  "  (Ch6rzci,  Aster  canescens 
viscosus  Nutt)  is  given,  in  the  form  of  a  decoction,  to  parturient  women 
against  almost  any  disorder.  "Charm  remedy  "  (Ndapalnga,  Solidago 
pumila  Nutt)  is  considered  to  be  a  good  remedy  against  pain  in  the 
breasts,  and  also  for  decreasing  and  even  drying  up  the  flow  of  milk  in  tne 
breasts,  from  which  it  is  also  called  "  milk-throwing-away  remedy" 
(HitQwannga).  It  is  cooked  in  connection  with  corn,  from  which  it 
is  also  called  "corn-cooked  remedy"  (Kadkwipnga).  Women  who  have 
a  scanty  flow  of  milk  chew  the  leaves  of  mdha  (Hygodesmia  juncea  dian- 
thaeflora).  For  the  same  purpose  "  milk  remedy  "  (Binga,  Ptiloria  pauci- 
flora)  is  employed  in  the  form  of  a  decoction,  which  is  used  internally 
and  externally,  or  the  roots  are  chewed  and  eaten  by  the  patient, 
or  chewed  and  then  rubbed  on  the  patient's  breasts  by  the  "doctor." 

There  are  numerous  other  herbs  and  various  leaves,  preparations 


52       Field  Columbian  Museum  —  Anthropology,  Vol.  VI. 

of  which  are  used  by  the  women  either  before  or  after  confinement. 
"  Sun  top  "  (  Tawdriyanpi,  Tetraneurio  iresiana  Greene)  is  applied  locally 
against  severe  pain  in  the  hips  and  back,  especially  during  the  pregnant 
state.  A  decoction  of  the  leaves  of  various  junipers  (Juniperies  occi- 
dentalis  Hooker  and  Juniperies  communis  L.),  as  well  as  of  "maidens" 
(Manatu)  is  taken  by  women  who  desire  to  have  female  issue,  while 
such  plants  as  "boys"  (Lolimu,  Townsendia  strigosa  Gray)  is  used  by 
those  who  desire  male  issue. 

When  explaining  to  me  the  nature  and  uses  of  "  Big  Maiden  blos- 
som "  (Wapamanci,  Castillega  Linearifolia  Bentham)  my  friend  and  infor- 
mant of  the  Hopi  medical  profession,  once  said  that  a  decoction  of  this 
was  also  sometimes  used  against  excessive  menstrual  discharges  and 
to  prevent  conception,  as  it  "dried  up  the  menstrual  flow,"  as  he  put  it. 
Another  informant,  in  speaking  about- Hopi  drugs,  mentioned  two  other 
herbs,  both  called  "  not  child-bearing  medicine "  (ka  tihta-nga),  as 
being  used  for  the  same  purpose.  One  of  them  is  said  to  be  so  strong 
that  "it  twists  the  uterus  all  up,"  causing  the  death  of  the  woman. 
To  prevent  such  a  fatal  result,  the  two  herbs  are  used  together  for  the 
purpose  mentioned,  one  partly  neutralizing  the  strength  and  severity 
of  the  other. 

While,  of  course,  by  far  the  greater  percentage  of  Hopi  women 
pass  safely  through  the  puerperal  state,  cases  are  by  no  means  wanting 
where  their  apprehension,  that  the  dark  days  through  which  they  are 
to  pass  might  become  for  them  the  passage  to  the  skeleton  house 
becomes  fearfully  true.  Only  lately  a  man  was  here  from  another  vil- 
lage, whose  wife  died  recently  of  what  I  believe  to  have  been  puer- 
peral fever.  Other  cases  are  known  to  me.  Of  one  I  learned — when 
help  was  too  late  —  that  the  woman  had  died  of  what  seems  to  have 
been  puerperal  ecclampsia.  One  of  the  causes  to  which  the  Hopi 
attribute  such  fatal  results  is,  that  the  patient  has  partaken  of  cold 
water  or  nourishment,  which,  they  say,  causes  the  blood  in  the  uterus 
to  coagulate,  to  produce  distension  of  that  organ,  etc.,  and  hence  great 
care  is  taken  that  a  lying-in  woman  shall  take  warm  food  and  drink  only. 

During  the  twenty  days  comprising  the  lying-in  period,  the  fire 
is  not  supposed  to  go  out  in  the  house  where  the  patient  is;  of  course 
it  is  not  actually  to  burn  all  the  time,  but  care  must  be  taken  that  at 
least  embers  remain  at  the  fireplace.  In  case  it  be  entirely  extinguished 
it  is  at  once  renewed,  but  that  day  is  not  counted  as  one  of  the  twenty, 
and  another  one  is  added.  In  such  a  case  the  child  is  said  to  be 
a  "  fire  meddler  "  (towiishkovi).  It  is  believed  that  it  will  have  a  mor- 
bid inclination  to  play  with  fire.  This,  it  is  claimed,  will  also  be  the 
case  if  anything  be  baked  or  roasted  on  the  fire,  or  on  the  coal  of  the 


Feb.,  1905.  Oraibi  Natal  Customs  —  Voth.  5,^ 

fire  itself.  It  is  all  right,  however,  to  place  and  cook  something  over 
the  fire. 

A  primapara  is  not  allowed  to  leave  the  house  before  sundown  dur- 
ing the  entire  puerperal  period,  while  a  multipara  may  do  so  occasion- 
ally after  the  fifth  day.  Neither  is  supposed  to  go  barefooted  during 
those  twenty  days.* 

The  child  is  every  morning  bathed  and  rubbed  in  by  the  godmother 
with  ashes  or  powder  of  the  clay  already  mentioned,  and  is  then  fastened 
to  its  cradle  board.  Food  of  various  kinds,  but  all  prepared  with  cedar 
leaves,  and  some  with  salt  or  fat,  is  given  to  the  patient  every  day, 
and  everything  must  be  warm,  at  least  during  the  first  part  of  the 
lying-in  period,  as  already  stated.  On  the  fifth  day  after  the  child 
has  been  attended  to.  the  woman's  head  is  washed  with  yucca  suds, 
and  her  body  bathed  with  a  hot  infusion  of  juniper  leaves,  her  clothes 
are  then  changed,  her  bed,  pads,  etc.,  removed,  whereupon  the  attend- 
ant takes  the  soiled  clothes  to  one  of  the  distant  springs  where  they 
are  washed,  some  leaves  of  juniper  also  being  used  in  the  water.  When 
the  clothes  are  dry  they  are  brought  back  and  used  as  usual.  On  this 
day,  after  the  bathing  of  the  child  and  the  mother,  the  lowermost  of  the 
four  lines  on  the  four  walls  is  scraped  off  by  the  mother,  or,  if  she  be 
not  well  enough,  by  her  mother  or  mother-in-law.  She  scrapes  it  into 
her  hand,  and  going  to  the  edge  of  the  mesa  she  holds  the  meal  to 
her  lips,  utters  a  little  prayer,  and  sprinkles  it  to  the  rising  sun.  She 
says  something  like  the  following: 

"  Your  beautiful  rays  may  they  color  (illumine)  our  faces;  being 
dyed  in  them,  somewhere  at  an  old  age  we  shall  fall  asleep  old  women." 
Fall  asleep  an  old  man  is  substituted  if  the  child  be  a  boy.  (Conwak  uh 
taldongway  itdmui  pichdngtoinaq,  put  itam  pichdngwaikahkang  woydmik 
bdkdmi  ndwokiwinkang  wilhtihaskuwuwani.  Wiihtakwuwani  is  substituted 
if  the  child  be  a  boy.) 

On  the  tenth  and  fifteenth  mornings  after  the  birth  of  the  child,  the 
head  and  entire  body  of  the  mother,  as  well  as  that  of  the  child,  is 
washed  by  the  godmother  the  same  as  on  the  fifth  day.  The  father  of  the 
child  usually  washes  his  own  head  also.  On  some  occasions  a  tw4g 
of  juniper  is  placed  in  a  vessel  on  the  fifth,  tenth,  and  fifteenth  days, 
some  water  poured  on  it,  and  a  hot  stone  put  into  it.  The  mother 
then  stands  over  this  vessel,  and  thus  is  subjected  to  a  steam-bath. 
She  also  washes  her  limbs  and  body  with  the  liquid,  whereupon  the 
water,  stone,  and  twig  are  carried  to  a  special  place  outside  of  the  vil- 

*A9  buckskin,  and  consequently  also  woman's  moccasins,  are  beginning  to  get  scarce, 
women  who  anticipate  such  a  twenty  days'  "confinement,"  or  their  friends,  frequently  come  to 
the  mission  and  beg  (or  a  pair  of  stockings  to  be  worn  by  them  daring  that  time. 


54      Field  Columbian  Museum  —  Anthropology,  Vol.  VL 


lage.  On  the  tenth  day,  the  second,  and  on  the  fifteenth  day  the  third 
of  the  meal  lines  on  the  four  walls  of  the  house  is  scraped  off,  and  the 
meal  carried  out  with  the  water  to  the  same  place  outside  of  the  village 
as  that  on  the  fifth  day. 

On  the  twentieth  day,  on  which  the  child  receives  its  name,  more 
elaborate  ceremonies  take  place  in  the  lying-in  house.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  that  day  the  same  attendant  —  the  mother-in-law  of  the 
lying-in  woman,  or  her  substitute,  proceeds  to  the  house  of  the  patient, 
bringing  with  her  some  soap-weed  root  and  some  water.  The  mother 
of  the  lying-in  woman,  or  her  substitute,  has  in  the  mean  while  built 

a  fire  at  one  or  several 
places  in  the  house,  and 
placed  some  water  and 
the  food  to  be  used  for 
breakfast  thereon.  The 
mother-in-law  then  pre- 
pares some  suds  of  the 
vucca  roots  which  she  has 
brought.  In  these  suds 
she  washes  the  two  ears 
of  corn,  which  are  usually 
white.  Hereupon  she 
washes  the  head  of  the 
lying-in  woman,  then  her 
own;  the  mother's  mother 
then  follows,  and  then  the  head  and  body  of  the  child  is  washed  by  the 
father's  mother.  See  Fig.  3.  Sometimes  the  father  and  others  also  wash 
their  own  heads.  After  she  has  bathed  the  child,  she  holds  it  in  her  left 
arm,  rubs  a  little  meal  on  its  forehead,  cheeks,  chin,  and  into  its  mouth, 
and  then  taking  the  two  corn  ears  in  her  right  hand  she  holds  them  on 
the  breast  of  the  child.  See  Fig.  4.  While  she  does  this  she  says:  "To 
old  age  your  life  being  preserved,  may  you  become  an  old  man  (old 
woman),  but  N.  N.  you  shall  be  named."  (Woyomii  uh  kdtci  navokawinta- 
kang  wdhtakwuwani  (wiihtihaskiwuwani)  nikang  N.  N.  yan  um  mdchiwni.) 
Other  women  have  in  the  mean  while  come  in,  each  one  bringing 
with  her  a  little  water  with  which  she  also  bathes  the  child's  head  and 
body,  giving  it  a  name  in  the  same  manner  as  the  grandmother. 
The  child  thus  receives  as  many  as  five,  eight,  ten,  or  even  more 
names,  only  one  of  which  usually  "  sticks  "  (hiirzhti),  as  the  Hopi  say. 
Each  new  name  is  greeted  by  the  mother  with  "Thanks!"  (dskwali!) 
These  women  all  belong  to  the  same  clan  as  the  mother  and  child. 
Some  leave  as  soon  as  they  are  through,  others  remain.     Sometimes  the 


Fig.  3.     Washing  the  child  on  the  twentieth  day. 


Feb.,  1905. 


Oraibi  Natal  Customs  —  Voth. 


55 


mother  washes  her  feel,  body,  and  arms  while  the  child  is  being  bathed. 
A  branch  of  juniper  is  placed  in  the  water,  and  usually  also  a  hot  stone. 
On  one  occasion  the  mother  stood  over  the  bowl  containing  the  branch 
and  stone,  thus  receiving,  as  it  were,  a  steam-bath.  On  another  occa- 
sion the  stone  and  wet  juniper  twjg  were  placed  on  the  floor,  and  while 
the  mother  held  her  feet  over  them  —  first  the  one  and  then  the  other 
-  they  were  washed  by  one  of  the  aunts.  In  fact,  this  performance 
varies  in  small  details  on  different  occasions. 

The  water  used  for  these  baths  is  always  tepid,  and  the  wrappings 
of  the  child  are  warmed  at  the  fire  while  it  is  subjected  to  a  new  bath. 
It  often  happens  that 
when  the  little  one  has 
just  gone  to  sleep  in  his 
warm  coverings,  a  new 
aunt  arrives,  and  it  is 
taken  out  of  its  wrap- 
pings and  subjected  to  a 
new  bath  and  a  new 
name,  which  may  be  re- 
peated in  a  few  minutes. 
When  all  the  aunts  have 
done  their  duty  as  de- 
scribed, the  last  of  the 
four  lines  on  the  four 
walls  of  the  room  are 
scraped  off  either  by  the 

grandmother  or  by  one  of  the  aunts  of  the  child.  The  meal,  together  with 
the  water  in  which  the  mother  has  bathed  herself,  some  sand  on  which  the 
bowl  had  been  placed  to  absorb  any  water  that  might  be  spilled,  etc.,  is 
taken  by  one  of  the  relatives  to  the  place  outside  of  the  village  on  which 
the  placenta,  sand,  tray,  etc.,  were  placed  on  the  first  day,  as  has  already 
been  recorded.  On  one  occasion  I  noticed  that  a  vessel  containing  some 
urine  of  the  mother  was  also  taken  along,  and  I  am  told  that  this  is  done 
every  day.  The  godmother  and  the  mother  of  the  child  leave  the  house 
and  go  to  the  edge  of  the  mesa  east  of  the  village,  the  godmother  carrying 
the  child,  the  two  ears  of  corn,  and  both  some  sacred  meal.  In  the 
case  of  a  primapara,  the  young  mother  puts  on  her  bridal  moccasins 
and  the  larger  of  her  two  white  bridal  robes  for  this  solemn  occasion. 
Sometimes  the  mother  carries  the  two  ears  of  corn.  At  the  edge  of  the 
mesa  they  turn  their  faces  towards  the  rising  sun.  The  grandmother, 
holding  the  child  in  her  left  arm,  touches  its  breast  with  the  two  corn 
ears,  and  then  waves  them  towards  the  rising  sun.      See  Fig.  5.     Turning 


Fig.  4.    Holding  the  ears  of  corn  to  the  breast  of 
the  child,  and  >j[iving  it  its  first  name. 


56      Field  Columbian  Museum  —  Anthropology,  Vol.  VI. 


to  the  child  she  again  says  the  little  prayer,  but  now  inserts  all  the  names 
it  has  received.  Her£upon  she  hands  the  child  to  the  mother,  who 
repeats  the  same  performance.  Both  then  hold  their  hands  containing 
the  meal  to  their  lips,  breathe  a  prayer  over  it.  sprinkle  it  towards  the 
rising  sun,  kiss  the  child,  and  then  return  to  the  house.  Here  the 
morning  meal  is  now  prepared  and  partaken  of.  First,  those  who  have 
bathed  the  child  and  the  members  of  the  house  eat.  Then  the  grand- 
mother on  the  mother's  side  goes  through  the  houses  and  invites  any 
one  to  come  and  share  with   them  the  morning  meal.     Sometimes  it 

is  even  announced  by  the  crier. 
Any  food  may  from  now  be  eaten 
by  the  mother,  and  a  little  meat 
and  salty  food  are  even  given  to 
the  baby.  The  cover  that  carefully 
kept  out  the  sunshine  during  the 
twenty  days  is  not  put  up  on  this 
day,  and  everything  in  the  house 
assumes  normal  conditions  again. 
The  child  is  then  rubbed  all 
over  the  body  with  a  mixture  of 
tallow  and  clita  (a  red  ochre). 
This  is  later  on  repeated  every 
few  days  for  about  a  month,  to 
clean  the  child's  skin,  the  women 
say.  On  the  fifth  and  tenth  days 
after  these  rites,  the  woman  once 
more  washes  the  child's  and  her 
own  head,  but  hers  with  cold  water.  In  the  case  of  a  primapara  this  is 
done  on  the  tenth  and  twentieth  days.  During  these  respective  periods 
they  are  also  supposed  to  observe  the  strictest  continence. 

While  the  manner  of  procedure  during  these  ceremonies  is  essen- 
tially the  same  in  the  different  families,  it  naturally  varies  in  small 
details;  for  instance,  where  the  grandmothers  are  no  longer  living, 
one  of  her  relatives  takes  her  place,  or  sometimes  the  mother  washes  her 
own  head,  sometimes  it  is  done  by  her  mother-in-law.  Some  details 
are  also  determined  by  the  condition  of  the  patient;  but  the  rites  are 
described  as  nearly  as  possible  as  they  should  be,  and  as  they  are  per- 
formed  under   normal   circumstances. 


Fig.  5.     Mother  of  the  child  waving  the 
ears  of  com  to  the  rising  sun. 


Feb.,  1905.  Oraibi  Natal  Customs  —  Voth.  57 


A    SPECIAL    NAME-GIVING    CEREMONY    IN    ORAIBI. 

The  foregoing  account  of  the  natal  ceremonies  is  a  compilation 
of  notes  and  observations  made  at  different  times.  Since  the  com- 
pilation was  made,  another  name-giving  ceremony  was  observed,  and 
it  was  thought  best  to  print  the  notes  on  that  observation  as  they 
were  made,  instead  of  incorporating  them  in  the  foregoing  general 
account.  An  opportunity  is  thus  afforded  to  notice  and  study  the  suc- 
cessive stages  of  the  rites  in  a  particular  ceremony,  to  note  small  varia- 
tions, etc. 

We  came  to  the  house  where  the  ceremony  was  to  take  place  at 
about  four  o'clock,  and  found  the  people  still  asleep.  In  about  ten 
minutes  the  grandmother  came  in  bringing  with  her  a  kettle  of  water 
and  two  white  ears  of  corn.  She  soon  commenced  to  make  suds  of  yucca 
roots.  She  is  the  mother  of  the  father  of  the  baby  and  her  name 
is  Nuvayonsi.  A  few  minutes  later  came  in  Qomdhepnoma,*  the  sister 
of  the  former.     Both  belong  to  the  Coyote  clan. 

.\s  soon  as  the  suds  was  ready  the  grandmother  bathed  the  two 
corn-ears,  rinsing  them  off  with  fresh  water.  Some  water  had,  in  the 
mean  while,  been  heated,  to  which  the  grandmother  added  some  suds. 
A  good  fire  was  by  this  time  burning  in  an  American  stove.  Another 
fire  had  been  started  in  the  fireplace  in  an  adjoining  room  where 
a  large  vessel  of  water  was  boiling.  A  third  fire  was  burning  in  the 
corner  of  the  room  where  the  ceremony  took  place.  On  this  latter, 
the  water  for  the  ceremony  was  being  heated. 

After  having  bathed  the  two  ears  of  corn,  the  grandmother  washed 
the  mother's  head,  which  was  repeated  by  Qdraa.  When  both  were 
through  they  poured  some  water  over  her  head,  rinsing  it.  The  mother 
herself  pressed  the  water  from  her  hair.  The  bowl,  containing  the  suds, 
was  then  placed  near  the  stove,  some  fresh  water  being  poured  into 
another  bowl;  and  in  this  water  the  arms  and  the  shoulders  of  the  mother 
were  bathed.  The  water  in  the  little  pail,  which  was  used  for  these 
purposes,  had  been  heated,  with  a  few  sprigs  of  juniper  in  it.  After 
the  arms  and  the  upper  part  of  the  body  of  the  mother  had  been 
bathed,  a  little  sand,  which  had  been  lying  in  the  corner,  was  swept 
forward,  a  heated  stone  placed  on  it,  and  some  yucca  roots  that  had 
been  nsed  for  the  suds,  as  well  as  some  of  the  juniper  leaves,  were 
placed  on  the  stone.  The  mother  then  placed  her  right  foot  on  these 
branches,  and  the  grandmother  washed  it.  The  same  was  repeated  with 
the  left  foot.     The  mother  then  got  a  tray  on  which  the  grandmother 

•Uaually  nsed  in  its  abbreviated  form  Qoma. 


58      Field  Columbian  Museum  —  Anthropology,  Vol.  Y1. 


placed  the  sand,  juniper  branches,  and  yucca  leaves,  sweeping  every- 
thing up  very  thoroughly.  The  heated  stone  was  also  placed  on  this 
tray.  Hereupon  the  grandmother  took  the  same  broom  and  swept  the 
fourth  corn -meal  line,  which  still  remained  upon  the  wall,  into  her  left 
hand,  throwing  the  corn-meal  also  into  the  tray.  The  meal  on  a  joist 
was  then  scraped  off.  A  live  ember  from  the  fireplace  in  the  corner 
was  finally  placed  on  the  tray,  then  Q6ma  took  the  tray  in  her  left 
arm,  and  the  little  pail  of  water,  containing  some  more  juniper  sprigs, 
in  her  right  hand,  and  carried  these  things  to  a  "placenta  pile"  outside 
of  the  village.  This  pile  is  about  one  hundred  yards  north  of  the 
house.     On  this  she  threw  the  tray  with  its  contents,  pouring  also  the 

water  on  it.  The  little 
tin-pail  she  brought  back 
with  her.  Upon  her  re- 
turn to  the  house  the  bowl 
with  the  suds  was  again 
brought  forward,  the  baby 
taken  out,  and  its  head 
bathed  by  the  grand- 
mother. The  child  was 
entirely  nude,  and  did 
not  cry  at  all.  After  the 
grandmother  was  through 
bathing  the  child's  head, 
Q6ma  took  it  and  also 
washed  its  head.  They 
held  the  child  in  their 
left  hand,  back  downward.  The  suds  was  then  poured  into  another 
bowl,  and  fresh  water  poured  into  this  bowl,  with  which  the  head  of 
the  child  was  rinsed.  The  water  was  again  poured  into  the  other 
bowl,  and  fresh  water  taken,  and  the  face  of  the  child  received 
another  washing.  Hereupon  the  little  one  was  placed  into  the  bowl, 
and  the  entire  body  bathed  by  Qdma.  She  then  handed  it  to  the 
grandmother,  who  wrapped  it  up  in  a  blanket,  which  the  mother  had 
in  the  mean  while  warmed  by  the  fire.  The  child  at  once  went  to 
sleep.     See  Fig.  6. 

A  third  woman  came  in,  who  was  the  sister  of  the  father  of  the 
child.  She  also  bathed  the  child's  entire  body,  the  child  by  this  time 
having  something  to  say  about  the  matter. 

The  three  women  who  had  come  in  by  this  time  belonged  to  the 
Coyote  clan,  the  clan  of  the  father. 

When  the  third  woman  was  through,  the  child  was  again  wrapped 


Fig.  6.    The  baby  sleeping  during  an  interval 
between  two  baths. 


Feb.,  1905.  Oraibi  Natal  Customs  —  Voth.  59 

up  in  the  blanket  and  held  by  the  grandmother,  who  rubbed  its  face 
and  body  with  corn -meal.*  The  step-sister  of  the  baby  carried  out 
the  water.  The  child  was  here  nursed  by  the  mother.  Another  woman 
came  in  with  a  little  water  and  also  bathed  the  child.  The  mother, 
in  the  mean  while,  warmed  a  blanket,  in  which  the  child  was  placed 
again  as  soon  as  it  was  bathed,  whereupon  the  mother  re-assumed  the 
nursing  of  the  child.  No  one  else  coming  in,  the  grandmother  took 
the  child  in  her  left  arm,  picked  up  the  two  corn-ears  with  her  right 
hand,  waved  them  forward  over  the  chest  of  the  child,  expressed  the 
usual  good  wish,  and  gave  the  child  a  name.  The  same  thing  was 
repeated  by  the  other  three  women  in  the  sequence  in  which  they  hap- 
pened to  be  sitting. 

The  first  name  given  the  child  was  "Little-Fox"  (Sikdhtayhoya); 
the  .second,  "Gray-In-a-Line"  (QSydwishtiwa);  the  third,  "Beautiful- 
Brought"  (Lomimakiwa),  referring  to  a  pretty  fox  skin  which  is  im- 
agihed  to  have  been  brought  by  some  one;  the  fourth,  "Remembered" 
(Uuna),  referring  to  the  fact  that  the  Coyote  sometimes  happens  to  think 
about  some  food  that  he  has  run  across,  or  buried  somewhere;  the  fifth, 
"Waving  [Fire]"  (Yoshjiuma),  referring  to  the  belief  of  the  Hopis  that 
the  "  Skeleton  "  goes  round  during  the  night,  occasionally  swinging  or 
waving  a  spark  of  fire.  The  reason  why  this  name  refers  to  the  Skeleton 
clan,  though  the  name-giver  properly  belongs  to  the  Coyote  clan,  is  that 
these  clans  are  related  to  each  other.  Another  interval  took  place,  in 
which  the  grandmother  held  the  child,  calling  it  by  the  name  she  had 
given  it,  and  playing  with  it.  By  and  by  a  sixth  woman,  an  old  grand- 
mother, came  in.  She  is  probably  the  oldest  of  the  Coyote  clan,  and  the 
members  of  that  clan  call  her  their  C6a  (old  woman,  ancestor,  etc.).  She 
gave  it  the  name  of  "Juniper-Nodule"  (Hdplo,  from  h6p6lo),  referring 
probably  to  the  berries,  but  sometimes  also  to  nodules  growing  over 
places  where  branches  or  twigs  have  broken  off.  Finally  a  seventh  woman 
bkthed  it,  and  gave  it  the  name  Homihepn6ma.f  She  handed  the  child 
to  the  grandmother  again,  who  rubbed  its  face  with  a  little  corn-meal, 
which,  by  the  way,  she  did  after  each  bathing. 

By  this  time  all  the  women,  except  the  grandmother,  left. 

The  step-sister  of  the  little  baby  was  grinding  a  handful  of  corn- 
meal,  which  she  brought  in  and  placed  in  a  bowl,  from  which  the  grand- 
mother had  been  using  corn-meal. 

At  a  quarter  to  six  the  mother  and  grandmother  got  ready  for  the 

•During  the  twenty  days  preceding,  little  girl  babie*  are  sometimes  rubbed  with  a  Icind 
of  clay  called  "baby  ashes"  (tipdshqotcro),  which  is  said  to  be  of  a  pinkish  color. 

♦  For  further  information  on  Hopi  names,  their  meaning,  etc.,  see  "  Hopi  Proper  Names,"  by 
H.  K.  Voth.    Anth.  Ser..  Vol.  VI  No.  3. 


6o      Field  Columbian  Museum  —  Anthropology,  Vol.  VI. 


morning  offering  to  the  sun.  The  grandmother  already  had  the  child 
on  her  back,  and  was  ready  to  start,  when  another  woman  came  in  to 
bathe  the  child.  She  complained  that  she  had  not  gotten  awake  in 
time.  So  the  child  was  taken  out  of  its  wrappings  and  received  an  eighth 
bath.  This  woman  was  Lomanan-Kwusha's  wife.  She  gave  the  child 
the  name  of  "Well-Caught"  (Lomavikta),  referring  to  chasing  and 
capturing  a  fox.  The  grandmother  and  the  mother  then  again  made 
ready  for  the  morning  offering,  the  grandmother  taking  the  child  on  her 
back,  the  mother  the  two  corn-ears,  and  both  a  little  pinch  of  corn-meal. 


Fig.  7.      Ottering  sacred  meal  to  tlie 
rising  sun. 


Fig.  8.     Grandmother  carrying  home 
food. 


They  proceeded  to  the  edge  of  the  mesa,  southeast  of  the  village,  where 
the  main  trail  leaves  the  mesa.  Here  the  mother  took  the  blanket  from 
the  grandmother's  back,  and  assisted  the  latter  in  taking  the  child  in  her 
arms.  Holding  the  child  in  her  right  arm,  the  grandmother  breathed  a 
silent  prayer  on  the  meal  which  she  held  in  her  right  hand.  See  Fig.  7. 
Rubbing  a  small  quantity  of  it  on  and  between  the  lips  of  the  baby,  she 
threw  the  rest  towards  the  rising  sun.  She  then  sucked  the  meal  from  the 
child's  lips,  and  spurted  it  towards  the  east,  which  she  did  four  times  in  all. 
Hereupon  she  took  the  two  ears  of  corn  from  the  mother,  extended  them 
towards  the  east,  and  with  a  circular  motion  towards  the  left  brought 
them  to  the  baby's  chest.  This  she  did  four  times  also.  As  she  went 
through  this  performance,  she  repeated  the  different  names  which  the 
child   had  received.     Finally,  she  expressed  a  good  wish  for  the  child, 


Wb 


IB,,  1905.  Oraibi   Natal  Customs  —  Voth.  ^m 

whereupon  she  placed  the  baby  on  her  back  again,  the  mother  takinjf 
the  corn-ears,  and  both  returned  to  the  house.  The  mother,  it  seems, 
dispensed  with  going  through  the  same  rites,  as  is  usually  done  on  these 
occasions. 

While  they  attended  to  this  performance,  the  father  of  the  child 
prepared  some  suds,  whereupon  he  also  washed  his  head.  A  sumptuous 
morning  meal  followed,  in  which  a  nun)ber  of  the  relatives  of  the  fam- 
ilv  participated. 

.\fter  this  morning  meal  the  grandmother  is  usually  given  a  con- 

derable  quantity  of  food,  principally   piki,    which  she  wraps  up    in    a 

anket  and  takes  home  with  her.   •  See  Fig.  8. 


